Of Skittles, Johnny Depp and Hi lites
by Ambrosia3
Summary: Dawn and Amanda have left The Hellmouth behind them... as well as everyone they care about. All they have now is eachother. (Please R&R)


Title: Of Skittles, Johnny Depp and Hi-lites  
  
Author: Ambrosia (o0cellar_door0o@hotmail.com)  
  
Rating: Umm... I /guess/ it'd be PG (as opposed to a G). There's like the teeny tiniest hint of a possible future f/f romantic relationship so god, I don't know, maybe it's an R! :: insert eye-rolling here ::   
  
Summary: Takes place soon after "Get It Done". Dawn and Amanda are travelling by bus to L.A. having left the threat of The First, its army of Turok-Han, and the rest of The Hellmouth's nasties behind them. Of course, in doing so, they've also left everything and everyone they have ever known and cared about. All they have now is eachother.   
  
Disclaimer: Not mine. I'm just playing. I promise to put them back when I'm done.  
  
Author's Note: This was my Buffyverse Femslash Ficathon assignment that I wrote for the loverlie Erin (aka thehush).  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
The bus lurched forward before coming to a complete stop, and caused Dawn's head to bang harshly against the window it was resting on. Sleepily, she raised her eyelids but shut them tightly again when she was hit with the sharp, orange rays of the morning sun.   
  
"Dawn?"   
  
A familiar voice broke through the cloak of sleep, already thin thanks to the throbbing on the left side of her head and the red and purple spots now swirling around the dark curtain of her closed eyes.   
  
"Dawn, we're at the rest stop."  
  
The window was pleasantly smooth against her cheek and, with her eyes closed, the sun's rays shining down on her filled her with a comforting warmth. She began to forgive them both for the rude awakening. All she wanted right now was to stay curled up in this spot and get another 30 minutes of sleep. 40 tops.  
  
Dawn felt a soft hand rub over her bare shoulder as Amanda tried to gently coax her awake.   
  
"Dawn? Are ya still sleepin'? If you don't wanna get up it's okay. I could get ya somethin'. Do you want me to get ya somethin'?"   
  
The warmth of Amanda's hand seeped into her, and soon the comfort the grimy window and filthy seat offered paled in comparison. *Maybe joining the world of the living for awhile wouldn't be such a bad thing.*  
  
Dawn sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes, before releasing a heavy yawn. "No", she said, turning to her friend. "We'll go together. I could use some munchies".  
  
Amanda smiled warmly. "Me too." Suddenly her eyes lit up and she excitedly added, "Ooh! Let's hope they've got skittles!"  
  
Dawn felt herself smile, and that act alone seemed to boost her energy. And lift her spirits.  
  
"Skittles? For breakfast?"   
  
Amanda was already up and out of her seat and had her bag slung over her shoulder. "Of course. Skittles are an any-and-/every/-time-of-day food, you know".  
  
Dawn giggled softly, "Well, I /didn't/ know but, thanks for enlightening me".  
  
"No problem", said Amanda, grinning back.  
  
Dawn pulled on her cardigan and rooted around for her purse well Amanda waited patiently. When she was ready, she climbed out of her seat and slowly followed her friend down the aisle.   
  
She was exhausted. Physically, mentally, emotionally /exhausted/. And she wondered how Amanda could possibly not be the same. *Inherent slayeree endurance I guess*, she thought somewhat wistfully.  
  
As she approached the stairs of the bus she noticed that the driver was shooting her a menacing look. "Half an hour", he said gruffly. "That's all ya get so you best pick up the pace, lil' miss".  
  
She opened her mouth to protest that comment but heard Amanda call to her from the parking lot.  
  
"Dawn, are you coming or not?" she said, more concerned than annoyed.  
  
"Yep, be right there".  
  
She turned and shot the driver a wilting look of her own before bumbling on out the door.  
  
* * * * *   
  
"How can you /say/ that!" Amanda squealed incredulously through a mouthfull of skittles.   
  
They were sitting across from each other in a booth at the no-star diner, chosen (for whatever reason) by their miserable driver as the rest stop en route. "/Chocolat/ is a BEAUTIFUL movie. So romantic and charming." Amanda gave an exaggerated sigh while Dawn made the universally accepted "gag me" gesture and stuck her finger down her thoat.  
  
"Okay that movie was sooo predictible, and not the least bit funny. Besides, the wishy-washy premise of some mystical women who can solve any problem with chocolate? Puhlease! I'm sorry but the only thing beautiful, romantic and charming about that movie was Johnny Depp and his fifteen minutes of screen time."  
  
"But wha- well, actually..." Amanda considered this for a moment. "I definitely AM on board with you about his appeal, no arguments on that front, but... no, you know what? I'll just leave it at that", she finished with a defeated sigh and a shake of her head.  
  
"Ah hah!", said Dawn excitedly. "So I win!"   
  
"Hey! Now that's not what I said! You know I could argue this all day. Whose team was it now that won our Modern Western Civ's class debate on the cause of WWI? Was it /your/ team? Was it? Can you refresh my memory?", teased Amanda giddily.   
  
"That's /completely/ unfair!", complained Dawn. "You know we only lost because Trisha started making analogies involving hair care, and Margot fainted before she even got a word of her response out."  
  
"Yeah, poor Margot. You really /did/ get a sucky team to work with", giggled Amanda at the memory.  
  
"No kidding" agreed Dawn sulkily. She had barely forced a pout however when her face brightened with an idea. "Okay, tell you what, how about we call a truce on the whole debating thing?" She took on an exaggerated political tone before continuing. "From this day foward, let our mutual love for Johnny Depp put to rest any other disagreements that may arise between us".  
  
Amanda grinned. "It's a deal."  
  
"Deal" smiled Dawn, holding out her hand.  
  
Amanda extended hers as well and the girls shook on their pact.   
  
"Hey, speaking of Johnny" began Dawn seriously, before taking a swig of her drink. "You know I actually thought I saw him once."  
  
Amanda's eyes grew wide with interest and she leaned forward in her seat. "Really? Well, what happened?"  
  
A smile tugged at the corner of Dawn's lips, as she slyly raised her eyes to meet Amanda's.   
  
"Yeah, it turned out to be a homeless man".  
  
The look on Amanda's face caused Dawn to burst into laughter, and not long after her friend couldn't help but join in.  
  
When the tears had stopped, the aching in their sides had begun to fade away, and Amanda had let Dawn know several times that she was "horrible", the girls slipped into a comfortable silence, taking in the atmosphere of the diner around them. Besides the handful of other passengers, who sat in clusters throughout the seating area, there were a few truckers as well, moving about the place. It was far from busy though and, soon, Dawn had taken in all there was to see and turned her attention to the tray before her.   
  
She had opted out on just getting some munchies and instead had order a bit of breakfast afterall. So had Amanda, that is, if you could call her coffee (two creams, two sugars), bag of tropical skittles, and the bite of carrot muffin she had taken before throwing the incredibly dry thing out, a "breakfast". Dawn on the otherhand had chosen a /somewhat/ more nutricious meal of a greasy fried egg, a scoop of hashbrowns smothered in ketchup and a chocolate milk.  
  
Amanda sipped away at her coffee and Dawn repeatedly stabbed at her egg with a fork, preferring to do that then actually eat anymore of its runny and now cold self. *Those hashbrows had been good though.* She thought positively. *Then again, maybe that was just the ketchup.*  
  
Dawn soon got bored of murdering the helpless food product and looked up to find Amanda staring at her, an unreadable expression playing across her features.  
  
"Oh, it's nasty" said Dawn with a rather sheepish laugh. "I'm not going to eat anymore of it".  
  
Amanda seemed startled that Dawn had noticed her staring, and quickly lowered her gaze to intently play with the rim of her cup. "Oh, that's not, not why I... nevermind".  
  
"What is it?" asked Dawn, concerned. "Ooh! Do I have something on my face?" Grabbing her napkin, she self-consciously began dabbing away at her mouth and chin.  
  
Amanda smiled, relaxing. "No. No, Dawn, stop. There's nothing on your face. I- I was just thinkin' that, well, you're uh, you're really pretty."   
  
Dawn stopped dabbing, the napkin in mid-air. "Oh, um thanks", she managed, her cheeks reddening. "So are you".  
  
"Oh you don't have to say that", replied Amanda quickly. "That's not why I told you. I wasn't, you know, looking for you to say it back or anything". She took another sip of her coffee before gingerly picking up one of the sugar packets in front of her. Licking her finger she then delved into it, hoping to pick up any remaining crystals.  
  
Dawn was taken aback. She couldn't believe how completely Amanda had brushed aside the compliment. Sure, she hadn't /planned/ on telling Amanda she was pretty but, when she had, she had been far from insincere.   
  
"No, I mean it".  
  
Amanda looked up at her, seemingly confused as to what Dawn was talking about.  
  
"You're really pretty, Amanda."   
  
Amanda gave a small, embarrassed smile but looked entirely unconviced. "Uh huh, thanks. Hey do you think I should grab another pack of these for the road?", she said, now holding up the skittles bag.  
  
Dawn wasn't about to give up so easily. She snatched the turquoise package from Amanda's hand and made sure she had her friend's complete attention.  
  
"You ARE, Amanda. I'm not just saying that. I mean, first of all, you have flawless skin. Hello? Jealous much? And your eyes, you have /gorgeous/ blue-grey eyes. They're almost silver in the way they sparkle so much, especially when your smile. On top of that you've got that really sexy pouty lip thing going on, which you could /totally/ play up with some gloss by the way. Oh and your freckles? Forget about it. You're beautiful, Amanda. You really are beautiful."  
  
Amanda looked stunned. And well, Dawn /felt/ rather stunned. When was it that she first noticed the way Amanda's eyes sparkled when she smiled? Just how long had it been since she considered her lips sexy? With the way Amanda was looking at her, she seemed to be asking these same questions.   
  
Just when the moment threatened to become uncomfortable though, Dawn continued.  
  
"Um, plus" she began, before taking on a snooty, money-dipped tone. "You've got that /faahbulously/ long, shiny hair" she said, running her hands through her own. "You just can't forgot that dahling".   
  
Any hint of awkwardness dissolved away in the giggles that followed.   
  
"Yeah, I guess but, then again, you have those gorgeous hi-lites in your /faahbulous/ hair", Amanda pointed out.  
  
"Well", said Dawn. Her giggles were receding and she casually poured some skittles into her hand. "If you want hi-lites, why don't you get them then?"  
  
Amanda snatched the skittles back, but not before Dawn had a chance to turn that "some" into "the rest of the bag". She popped a few in her mouth and then stuck out her tongue to proudly display the colorful little candies to her mock-offended friend.  
  
"I /do/ want them", Amanda giggled, crinkling up the bag and dropping it on her tray. "I've wanted them forever but see my dad won't..." she stopped, and the smiles on both girls' faces instantly dropped away. The wonderfully care-free time they had been having was brought to a screeching halt, as the reality of their situation hit them once again with full force.   
  
It didn't matter what Amanda's dad thought now. She didn't have him to answer to anymore. Neither of them had anyone to answer to. Everyone they cared about, everything they'd even known, was back in Sunnydale, sitting helplessly on a hellmouth that could open up at any moment and swallow them all.   
  
A heavy silence fell around them as they realized just how alone they were. They had no one. No one except... each other.   
  
Dawn slowly reached across the table and gently placed her hand on Amanda's.   
  
Those silvery eyes, shining with unshed tears, met Dawn's green, steady and strong.  
  
"When we, when we get to L.A. we'll go get them done okay?" she began softly. "We'll go out, window-shop till we drop at all those outrageously expensive stores, then hit the mall for a few new clothes and some hi-lites. We'll go do it together".  
  
She had emphasized that last word. Together. They wern't alone. Not really. They had eachother, and that? That was enough. Whatever happened back in Sunnydale, and whatever was waiting for them in L.A., they would face it together. They were in this /together/.   
  
A small smile spread across Amanda's lips. "Yeah", she nodded, "that sounds good".   
  
"Five minutes!" barked the driver, rudely interrupting the moment. He stood at the front of the seating area, emptying his tray in the trash. "Anyone who isn't on the bus in five minutes gets left here. And I mean it". He wiped his greasy hands on his pants, which he then pulled up for good measure, before turning and heading out towards the bus.   
  
Dawn looked back at Amanda and two smiles met. Two smiles tinged in sadness and uncertainty, but smiles all the same.   
  
"I guess we should get going", Amanda spoke in barely more than a whisper.  
  
"Yeah, I guess so", echoed Dawn, tightly squeezing the hand she held.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * 


End file.
